


Blood, Sweat, and Magic

by SpiritMuse



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Ignis gets cuddles, Ignis is an Idiot, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Prompto is Worried, Sickfic, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2020-12-07 16:55:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20979251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritMuse/pseuds/SpiritMuse
Summary: "Prompto!" Ignis shouted and he appeared by Prompto's side. Prompto tried not to whimper as the arm that he had curled around his stomach protectively was pulled away, but he wasn't completely successful. It hurtso much. He squeezed his eyes closed and grit his teeth.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this in my WIPs forever and it's still not finished but it kind of fit Hug Ignis Week and so I thought that was a good excuse to at least post the first chapter. So, enjoy. :)

Prompto tried not to move as he lay on the grass, because moving made it hurt more. He'd almost been quick enough to avoid the spiracorn as it came charging at him but not quite and it had ended up introducing him to the business end of its horn with extreme prejudice.

"Prompto!" Ignis shouted and he appeared by Prompto's side. Prompto tried not to whimper as the arm that he had curled around his stomach protectively was pulled away, but he wasn't completely successful. It hurt _so much_. He squeezed his eyes closed and grit his teeth.

"Noct, do you have any Phoenix down?" Ignis shouted next to him.

"I'm all out!" Noctis shouted back from somewhere in the distance.

"Shit," he heard Ignis say and he vaguely thought it must be serious if Ignis is swearing.

A potion was put in his hand and he automatically squeezed until it cracked. It helped a little, taking the edge off the pain, but that was it.

"It's not enough," he heard Ignis say.

"Do we have any more?" Noctis said anxiously, a lot closer now.

"No, this was the last one," Ignis sounded terse and that wasn't good.

Prompto felt a light touch to his stomach, and he whimpered, but then a soothing magic started flowing through him. It wasn't the magic of a potion, or an elixir - it felt different. Different but also kind of familiar. Prompto couldn't quite make sense of it through the pain.

He managed to open his eyes and found Ignis leaning over him, eyes shut, brow furrowed in concentration.

"Iggy..." he breathed, and Ignis' eyes shot open.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," he said and a thin smile flitted across his features. There was a sheen of sweat on his face and his glasses were sliding down his nose a little in a way that in different circumstances Prompto would probably have found extremely hot.

"Iggy, don't overexert yourself," Gladio said as he approached. He and Noctis must have taken care of the remaining creatures, then, Prompto thought fuzzily.

"I'm not finished yet," Ignis replied in a clipped tone.

"Iggy," Prompto tried again, weakly, confused about what exactly was happening.

"Hush, darling, don't worry, just relax," Ignis said in a softer voice. Prompto did as he was told and let his eyes fall closed. He felt warm and fuzzy and the pain was nearly gone.

When the warmth abated, Prompto opened his eyes again. He blinked away the fuzziness as Ignis sat back and leaned one arm on the grass next to him, pushing up his glasses with the other hand.

"How are you feeling?" he asked Prompto.

Prompto experimentally flexed his abs, moved his legs, wiggled his toes inside his boots.

"I feel fine," he said. He looked at Ignis again. Ignis looked terrible. Sweaty and exhausted, and not in a good way.

"Are _you_ okay?"

Ignis smiled tiredly. 

"Yes, I'll be-" he collapsed down onto his side.

"Iggy!"

"Specs!"

Prompto scrambled to his knees and Noctis was at his side so fast he'd practically warped there. He rolled Ignis onto his back and Ignis weakly tried to swat the prince's hand away.

"Don't worry, I'm fine.... just a little tired..." he mumbled.

"Iggy?" Prompto said anxiously and Ignis looked at him groggily and smiled, before he lost consciousness.

"Specs! Ignis!" Noctis shouted, shaking him, trying to wake him up, while Prompto just sat there frozen, fearful, and confused. What was happening to Ignis? He wasn't hurt, was he? There wasn't any blood on him that Prompto could see, but what if there were internal injuries? Those could be bad. People could die from those... Ignis could... He really didn't want to think about that.

He'd never felt so relieved as when Ignis groaned slightly and opened his eyes a crack.

"'M fine..." Ignis mumbled, "jsst needa m'nute..." then he closed his eyes and lost consciousness once more.

"Noct, let me have a look," Gladio said, kneeling down and pushing Noct to the side in the process. Noct didn't protest, for once. Gladio checked Ignis over thoroughly, feeling his forehead, taking his pulse, and a couple of other things that Prompto was too anxious to follow.

"Well," Gladio said, "No injuries, everything seems fine. He's a little warm, but nothing that indicates a fever. My guess, he overdid it on the magic. As expected."

"I-is that bad?" Prompto asked anxiously. He didn't really know a lot about magic. He'd learned how to summon weapons and stuff but anything beyond that... he couldn't use magic like Ignis could.

"Means he's just gonna be asleep for a while," Noctis said, sounding half annoyed, but the relief was clear in his face.

Prompto breathed a sigh of relief, too.

"Yeah. Not sure how long it'll be though," Gladio said, "He really pushed himself hard on this one." He did not look very happy about that.

"I'm sorry," Prompto said, wincing awkwardly. He couldn't help but feel responsible for all this. After all, it was because of him that Ignis had had to use all of that magic. Because _he'd_ been stupid and incompetent enough to get himself hurt, Ignis was now... like _this_... and-

"Nah, it's not your fault Prompto," Noctis said, interrupting his spiralling thoughts.

"Yeah, seriously, he could have stopped earlier and left the rest to your natural healing ability," Gladio added.

"But he's an idiot so he didn't," Noct looked mildly exasperated with their sleeping friend.

"Uh. Thanks guys." Prompto wanted to believe them, and he tried, but he couldn't stop feeling at least somewhat responsible. Fact remained that Ignis wouldn't be in this state if he hadn't gotten himself hurt in the first place... But at least Ignis wasn't in any real danger and would be okay.

"Alright, we better get sleeping beauty here back to the motel," Gladio said, and gently but firmly pulled Ignis up, wrapped his arms around his body and hoisted him up into a bridal carry. Ignis' face twitched a little in response to all the movement, but he didn't wake up.

As they walked back to the Regalia, Ignis' head slid backwards down Gladio's shoulder a little and he started snoring slightly. Despite everything, Prompto had to stifle a giggle. Ignis was such a quiet sleeper normally that the image of him snoring like that was, well. As adorable as it was ridiculous, really.

When they got to the car, Gladio awkwardly folded Ignis into the back seat before climbing in on the other side. He strapped Ignis in carefully, then strapped himself into the middle seat. He pulled Ignis towards himself, a protective, stabilising arm around his shoulders as the sleeping man leaned into him. Prompto was almost kind of jealous (but not really, honest!) as hopped into the front seat next to Noctis.

"Drive carefully, Noct," Gladio reminded the prince.

"Yeah, yeah," Noctis said as he started the car.

Once they were on the road, Prompto couldn't stop himself from turning backwards in his seat to keep an eye on Ignis. He knew Ignis would probably scold him for it if he were awake, but, well.

"I've never seen him pass out from using magic like this before," he said thoughtfully, his arms leaning on the headrest.

"I have," Gladio replied. Because of course Gladio would have, he'd known Ignis for a lot longer than Prompto had.

"Yeah? What happened?" Prompto couldn't contain his curiosity. He didn't often get to hear stories about past-Ignis.

"It was a bunch of years ago, in a magical endurance test," Gladio began, "They had him conjure up a bunch of ice. He was supposed to keep at it until he felt his magic reserves were depleted."

"And Specs being Specs, of course, took that to mean 'until I pass out,'" Noctis added wryly.

"Wow," Prompto said, surprised but not really, "Yeah, that sounds like him. So... what happened then?"

"I carried his stupid ass to the infirmary where they checked him over and kept an eye on him as he slept," Gladio continued, "He woke up sometime in the evening, they gave him food and clearance to go home, but I had to half carry him there too as he was still practically asleep on his feet. He didn't wake up properly until the next day."

"Wow," Prompto said again. That was... something. He'd never been able to use magic beyond the basics, and sometimes it made him feel a bit useless, but knowing there was this drawback to it... with his track record he'd probably screw up and pass out all the time.

"Yup," Noctis replied, "That's Ignis for ya."

When they reached the hotel, they carefully folded the still sleeping Ignis out of the car and back into Gladio's arms. Prompto went ahead with the key to open the door while Noctis went to park the car properly. They'd rented the room for two nights, intending to spend the day completing the numerous hunts the local tipster had available. That hadn't quite turned out as they'd planned, to put it mildly.

"Let's get him into the bed," Gladio said as he entered the room.

"Oh yeah sure," Prompto tore the covers to the side to make room as Gladio gently deposited Ignis on the bed. Then he quickly dug up a clean top from his bag and pulled off the torn and bloodied one he was wearing. He looked down at his stomach, touching it tentatively with his fingertips. Despite the dried streaks of smeared blood, there was no trace of the injury at all. It was almost as if it never happened.

"We should probably take off some of his clothes so he's more comfortable," Gladio suggested, "He's gonna be asleep for a while."

"Ah yeah, right," Prompto said, quickly shrugging into his clean shirt. He suddenly felt nervous at the prospect. Not that he hadn't undressed his boyfriend before, just... never with an audience. He glanced over at Gladio, who didn't seem bothered at all. Well, the big guy was probably used to stuff like that, what with seeing people in various states of undress in the gym locker rooms all the time. He'd probably seen Ignis naked even. Still.

But Gladio had already popped off Ignis' shoes, so Prompto decided to start by carefully taking Ignis' glasses off his face, folding them and placing them neatly on the nightstand.

"Right," Prompto said, "Let's get him out of his jacket. Gladio?"

"Sure." Gladio easily lifted the unconscious man up so Prompto could pull the jacket off. He hung it carefully on the chair.

There was a knock on the door, and Gladio opened it to let Noctis in. 

"Hey, how is he?" Noct asked.

"Still the same, no signs of waking up yet," Gladio said.

They went back to work and between the three of them they quickly divested Ignis of most of his remaining clothes - both his shirt and undershirt were still soaking with sweat, so they ended up leaving him in just his black boxer briefs.

It felt somehow incredibly undignified to treat him this way - Prompto knew how Ignis disliked showing his bared body to just anyone. It wasn't that he was body shy exactly, he just had very definite ideas on when it was appropriate and inappropriate for himself to show skin.

But Prompto knew this was necessary for his comfort. And in a hotel room among friends was one of the times Ignis didn't usually mind being 'in a state of undress', as he called it. Prompto leaned across and pulled the covers back over his sleeping boyfriend, tucking him in securely. He gently ran his fingers through his still damp hair and kissed him on the forehead.

"Sleep well," he whispered quietly. Then he went to pick up Ignis' shirt and diligently hung it on one of the hangers in the hotel's closet, as Ignis always did, making extra sure it was in there properly and wouldn't wrinkle. He caught Noctis looking at him strangely.

"What?" Prompto said.

"I've just never seen you take care of clothes like that," Noct explained, "Normally you don't really care about getting stuff wrinkled."

"Yeah, well, I don't, but he does," Prompto replied, nodding towards Ignis.

"Ah, yeah, I guess so," said Noctis. He picked up Ignis' pants and brought them over so Prompto could hang them up too. 

"Noct, let's go hand in those hunts," Gladio said.

"What? Now?" Noctis asked.

"Yeah, now. We need the money. We need to get more supplies, too."

"Can't you go by yourself?" Noct said irritably.

"You're the registered leader of our hunting party," Gladio said, unintimidated, "You've gotta be there when we hand it in."

"We can't just leave Ignis like this," Noct said, his voice sharp.

"He's safe here," Gladio argued, "There's nothing we can do now but wait for him to wake up. We might as well do something useful."

"I'll stay," Prompto offered, "Keep watch, see if he needs anything."

Noct sighed, defeated. "Alright, I'll go."

Grudgingly he joined Gladio at the door.

"Seeya in a bit Prompto," he said. And then the door closed behind them.

Prompto quickly tidied away the rest of Ignis' clothes, then took off his boots and settled in on the unoccupied bed. He looked over at Ignis to make sure he was still sleeping peacefully before taking out his phone and unlocking the screen. If he was going to stay here a while he needed something to do or he'd drive himself crazy with worry. So he might as well take advantage of the opportunity and get in some games of King's Knight. 

He started, as always, by harvesting his Zell tree, before checking out the daily quests and open dungeons and selecting one to start with. He always liked to save the multiplayer daily for when they could all play together. Though half the time it ended up being just Noctis and him anyway.

He couldn't stop himself glancing over at Ignis every now and then as he played. He still couldn't quite shake that feeling of guilt. He wished he was as nimble in real life as the Thief character he expertly manipulated across the screen. Then maybe he wouldn't have gotten hurt.

He needed to find some way of making it up to Ignis.

Suddenly Prompto heard a slight noise coming from the other bed. He looked over to check if maybe Ignis was waking up, but he was still sleeping. He turned down the volume on his phone anyway.

In the middle of the next dungeon he heard it again. He paused the game to listen.

Ignis was mumbling in his sleep. Prompto lowered his phone and looked at Ignis. It kind of looked like he was frowning a little. Probably dreaming, thought Prompto.

"P..am..." Ignis mumbled, sounding a bit distressed. Prompto left his phone on the bed and slid off it to kneel next to his sleeping boyfriend.

"Iggy?" he said quietly, not quite sure what to do. He tentatively reached out a hand but stopped just short of touching.

Ignis groaned in his sleep, his frown deepening. It didn't look like a pleasant dream. Maybe it was best to try to wake him up. Prompto gently touched Ignis' cheek and stroked his fingers across his cheekbone. It usually didn't take much more than that to wake him (on those rare occasions he wasn't already awake before Prompto), but it wasn't working now. He was too deeply lost in sleep.

"Pomm...." he mumbled again, sounding definitely distressed now. Prompto realised Ignis was calling his name. Something was happening to him in Ignis' dream and it wasn't good.

"Iggy, I'm here," he said, "I'm alright, you're alright, we're safe now."

Ignis' face only twitched and he frowned more. He emitted a low whimper that tore at Prompto's heart.

Prompto gently shook his shoulder. "Wake up, Iggy, it's just a dream, we're safe now."

But Ignis still wasn't waking up. Prompto was getting worried. He shook him harder. 

"Ignis," he said louder, "Wake up! Ignis!"

Ignis groaned and finally his eyes opened a crack. He looked at Prompto glassily, clearly no more than half awake, his face twisted into a fearful expression.

"Prompto," he whispered urgently, trying to reach out with his hand. Prompto grabbed it and held it tight.

"I'm here, I'm safe, you saved me, remember?"

Ignis only kept staring at him, his hand twitching in Prompto's. He didn't seem to completely understand, only half awake, still in the grip of his nightmare. So Prompto did the only thing he could think of. He climbed right into the bed with him and wrapped his arms around the clearly terrified man. Ignis trembled slightly as he slowly returned the embrace. He whimpered as he held Prompto tight like he was a lifeline and pressed his face into his neck.

"It's okay," Prompto said softly, "I'm here. We're safe."

He felt a bit awkward lying in bed with his clothes on (though thankfully he'd taken his shoes off earlier) but it didn't really matter as he just held on to Ignis tightly, continuing to whisper quiet soothing nothings until he finally felt him relax in his arms.

He waited longer, until he heard his breathing slow and was pretty sure Ignis had gone back to sleep, before he gently extracted himself from the other's grasp.

When he'd almost made it, he felt Ignis' hand tighten and he looked back at him to find his eyes open again, staring at him groggily.

"Please stay..." Ignis whispered. He looked so small and so young in that moment, and Prompto wanted nothing more than to hold onto him forever.

"Alright Moonbeam, just let me get comfortable, ok?"

Ignis nodded slightly and reluctantly let go. At least he seemed a little more aware of where he was. Prompto quickly shuffled out of his pants and socks before crawling back into the bed, back into Ignis' waiting arms, their faces inches apart.

Ignis' eyes were falling closed, but they kept popping open again, a small frown on his face like he was desperately trying to stay awake.

"It's ok, Moonbeam, go to sleep. I'll be here," Prompto said, and gently pressed a kiss to his nose. 

When he pulled back, Ignis' frown was mostly gone and his eyes were relaxed and slightly fuzzy. It wasn't often that he got to see Ignis like this. He looked so unguarded, so soft, so openly vulnerable that it made Prompto's heart overflow with affection. He couldn't help but press another kiss to Ignis' nose. Then his cheek. A gentle one on his eyebrow. He rained small kisses everywhere across his face before finally pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. 

When he pulled back again Ignis had his eyes closed, a tiny smile lazily pulling at the corners of his mouth. He looked utterly content. His lashes fluttered, eyes opening for a moment but they quickly fell closed again. He was almost gone back under now.

"I love you," Prompto said quietly. Ignis softly murmured something unintelligible in reply.

Prompto smiled and carefully turned himself around in Ignis' arms. He took the arm draped across him and held it close to his chest, covering Ignis' hand with his own. He shuffled backward until his back was pressed flush against Ignis' chest and tugged the blanket tight around them. He'd rather have stayed watching his face, but this was Ignis' favourite sleeping position. He loved holding Prompto in his arms (and Prompto loved being held so it worked out perfectly). It was the best way to be sure Ignis would fall asleep peacefully.

Ignis shifted and curled around him and sighed contentedly. Yeah, definitely the right move.

Prompto stayed a while, listening to Ignis' quiet breathing, feeling his sleepy warmth around him. He could probably have crawled out of the bed without waking him now, but for the moment he was entirely too comfortable to try.

He hadn't intended to doze off but he must have because the next thing he knew he was woken up by the sound of the door being unlocked. His eyes flew open and he watched as Gladio and Noctis came in carrying a bag of snacks and energy drinks.

"Still can't believe you tried to haggle," Noctis said, irritated, "You _know_ those bounties are fixed!"

"Hey, I got us a free meal, didn't I?" Gladio placed the bag on the table.

Noctis scoffed. "Only because he saw us arriving."

"Oh gods, there's two of them now," Gladio said upon spotting Prompto in the bed with Ignis.

"Don't tell me it's contagious," Noct joked, his sour mood slightly lifting.

"Ha, ha," Prompto said sarcastically as he tried to ignore the heat in his cheeks. He spoke more quietly than he would normally have done, not wanting to wake up Ignis. It probably would take more than that right now but he didn't want to take any chances.

"Aw look how adorable," Gladio teased, "Couldn't stay away from your boyfriend, could you?"

"Shut up," Prompto was sure he was red like a fire truck despite his best efforts. "He was having a nightmare, ok?" he said defensively, not in the mood for Gladio's teasing right now.

That did indeed shut them up. They long had a silent agreement between the four of them that nightmares were not to be made light of.

"Is he alright?" Noct asked, suddenly worried.

"Yeah," Prompto said, carefully sitting up and untangling himself from Ignis' arms, "I tried to wake him up but I couldn't get him more than half awake, I had to crawl into bed to finally get through to him."

"Hmm," Gladio hummed thoughtfully, "Yeah, that sounds about right. He'll sleep heavily like that until at least early tonight." Prompto slid out of the bed and carefully tucked the blankets back around Ignis before slipping back into his discarded pants.

"Glad he's ok," Noctis sighed and flopped face down on the other bed.

"Noct, no," Gladio admonished him.

"What?"

"You're not going to sleep yet."

"Yeah yeah, I was only going to play some King's Knight, anyway." Noctis said, suddenly irritable again. He twisted around until he was sitting up and fished his phone out of his pocket.

"And your shoes, Noct."

"What, are you Ignis now?" Noct glared at Gladio.

Gladio snorted. "Don't think you can get away with shit now just because Iggy's asleep."

Noct rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically as he bent over to untie and shove off his boots.

It rankled Prompto a little to hear Ignis being talked about like that. More than a little, actually. Especially now that Ignis wasn't able to defend himself.

"You know how much he does for you every day, right?" he snapped. Noct looked up at him, surprised.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"It just bugs me to see you treating him like he's just some sort of nag when he does so much for you, for all of us, and never complains." Something in Prompto told him he was probably overreacting but, well, in for a penny, in for a Crown.

"I mean, hell, the whole reason he's out right now is because he gave everything he had to save my life!" 

Noctis fell back on the bed with an annoyed grunt, an arm across his face. 

"I know, I know, you're right. I just..." Noctis trailed off and sighed. "I get crabby when I'm worried okay?" he said quickly, and Prompto thought he saw a tinge of red on his face. As suddenly as it had come on, Prompto's irritation drained away.

"Yeah... me too," he sighed tiredly. Looking down at the bed, his eyes fell on the phone he'd left there.

"Wanna play some King's Knight? I've still got the co-op daily."

"Yeah, sure," Noctis pushed himself up again. He glanced up at Prompto with a small, crooked smile, and Prompto knew all was right between them again.

"Gladio, you joining us?" Noct added.

"Why not," Gladio said as he pulled out his own phone and joined the other two on the bed.

It would be a little more difficult with just the three of them - they wouldn't be able to use their combined super attack on the boss because that required four people - but with enough care and skill, they'd be able to get through it. Prompto chose one of his healer characters this time.

As it turned out, the others had the same idea.

"No one's taking any chances today, huh?" Gladio chuckled as they navigated their three healers across the level, the green circles of healing around them activated more often than not.

They were deep in the middle of their boss battle when they heard noise coming from the other bed. All three of them looked up as one, and watched intently as Ignis groaned slightly, turned over and settled back in with a contented sigh. When they looked back at their screens, all three of their characters were dead.

Prompto couldn't help but laugh, and Noct and Gladio chuckled too as they restarted the level.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the second chapter! Just in time for Ignis' birthday. 😁 Did not mean to make y'all wait so long, but you know how it is with life stuff. Third chapter is still planned and still being worked on, I promise, though I cannot give a timeframe yet.

"What are you up to?" Noctis asked.

"I, uh..." Prompto hesitated, halfway into leaning down towards Ignis, one hand resting on the bed. Thinking about it, it kinda seemed like a stupid idea. But also... maybe not. As he straightened up and turned back around he felt his face heat up. Again. "I... was kinda thinking about crawling back into bed with Iggy," he said. 

"What for?"

"Because... if this is gonna be the same as that other time, he's gonna wake up sometime soon, and I wanna be right there when he does."

"Aw, how sweet," Gladio teased, looking up from his book. Prompto ignored him.

"It's because, I don't know if he'll be confused when he wakes up, you know? Cause he was having that nightmare and stuff, and I'm pretty sure it was about me," Prompto fidgeted, "So I just wanna make sure he knows right away that I'm alright."

"Ah, yeah. I bet he'd appreciate that," Gladio said, a smile still on his face.

"Shut up Gladio, don't be annoying," Noct reprimanded him. Prompto shot Noct a look of gratitude. Normally Gladio's teasing didn't really bother him, and either he or Ignis would make some clever quip back, but well, Ignis was unconscious right now and Prompto was feeling a little frazzled as a result.

"I meant it that time," Gladio defended himself, "I'm not _always_ a sarcastic ass about this stuff."

"Could have fooled me," Noctis remarked dryly.

Gladio looked at him for a moment like he was going to protest, then sighed in defeat.

"Yeah, I deserved that," he admitted, "Sorry Prompto. I really do mean it though," he added, closing his book (with a finger in between the pages, Prompto idly noticed), an earnest expression on his face, "It is a good idea. You're right, there is a good chance he'll still be out of it when he wakes up, and considering his nightmare earlier it'll probably be good to have you right there."

"Uh, okay. Thanks," Prompto said, appreciating Gladio taking his idea seriously, but still feeling kinda awkward about actually doing it.

"So what are you waiting for?" Gladio nodded in his direction, "Go get into bed and cuddle your boyfriend," he grinned, and winked at Prompto.

Prompto playfully narrowed his eyes at him, halfway annoyed at more teasing but also maybe secretly a little grateful for the little push into action. He quickly shed his pants and crawled into the bed, deliberately turning his back to Gladio. Gladio chuckled in response, but made no more comments.

Prompto studied Ignis' sleeping face as he lay next to him. It looked so peaceful, so innocent. Free even of that perpetual slight frown that never really seemed to go away. And he looked so young. Prompto sometimes forgot that Ignis wasn't actually that much older than he was. He always acted so serious, so much more mature than the rest of them, and it always kind of naturally fell to him to be the "responsible adult" when the rest of them didn't want to. Though he could have his moments of playfulness, too, rare as they were.

Prompto smiled at the thought, and suddenly he got a severe urge to boop his sleeping boyfriend's nose. It always seemed the thing to do when faced with something adorable, especially if that something adorable was an Ignis. But there was a chance that the touch would wake Ignis (not a big chance probably but still), and he wanted him to get all the sleep he needed. So Prompto held himself back with an iron restraint. Ignis would be so proud.

Instead, he carefully shuffled closer to Ignis - fortunately Gladio was too engrossed in his book to make any more comments - and moved up the pillow a bit until he could fit Ignis' head under his chin. Ignis couldn't really hold him because he was deeply asleep, but Prompto gently took one of his arms and pulled it across himself under the covers, before tenderly wrapping his own arm around Ignis. With a sigh, Ignis shifted slightly in his new position but he didn't wake up.

Like before, Prompto closed his eyes and dozed comfortably, listening to the music emanating from Noct's phone as he played more King's Knight. That game had such good music, he loved it. He wondered if they ever made a soundtrack CD of it.

After some time Prompto heard Ignis' breath hitch, and his fingers twitched on Prompto's back. He groaned slightly. Prompto immediately recognised the tone. Ignis was having a bad dream again.

He brought a hand up to cup Ignis' frowning face, gently rubbing his thumb along the cheekbone.

"Wake up, Ignis," he whispered softly, "it's only a dream."

Mercifully, Ignis groaned and opened his eyes immediately this time, fear turning to relief upon seeing Prompto.

"You're alright," he breathed and wrapped his arms around Prompto tightly, his face pressing into Prompto's neck.

"Yes, I'm fine," Prompto whispered into his hair, "You saved me." He pressed a kiss into the mussed up locks.

Ignis relaxed and pulled his arm back from around Prompto, rubbing his hand across his face before looking at him blearily. He still looked exhausted and his eyes were red like he needed a lot more sleep, but he looked actually awake this time.

"You're awake," Prompto smiled.

"I am," Ignis smiled back weakly, and blinked slowly.

Noctis appeared by their side, summoned by the noise.

"Hey Specs," he said, "good to see you're awake."

"Hey Iggy," Gladio said, approaching as well, "Welcome back to the land of the living. How're you feeling?"

Ignis groaned slightly as he let himself fall away from Prompto, one hand raking his hair out of his face. "I'm starving, I have a headache, and I feel like I could sleep for another three days. Other than that, though, I'm perfectly fine." Prompto caught the wry smile as he closed his eyes and sighed. For a moment it looked like he might fall asleep again but then his eyes popped open again and he squinted up at the two standing over them.

"What time is it?"

"It's about a quarter past seven."

"Then I was asleep foh..." Ignis trailed off into a yawn so big it made him shiver. Prompto had to suppress a yawn of his own. That stuff was so contagious.

"Not nearly long enough yet, judging by that yawn," Noct said, a smile on his face, "Trust me, I'm the expert."

Ignis gave a lazy chuckle as he stretched. "I suppose you're right."

"Want me to get you some painkillers?" Noctis asked.

"Ah, that would be nice, thank you. Two of the blue ones, please, Noct," Ignis said.

"Two?"

"Is it that bad?" Gladio asked, a frown on his face.

"Mmm," Ignis murmured affirmatively, closing his eyes again.

"Probably partly dehydration," Gladio surmised.

"I would assume so," Ignis responded.

"Make sure to get lots of water, Noct," Prompto said helpfully.

"Yeah, 'course," Noct said as he rummaged through their medical supplies.

"What the hell were you thinking, Iggy?" Gladio said, shaking his head, "Taking yourself out of commission like that."

"I was _thinking_," Ignis said sharply as he pushed himself upright in the bed, "I needed to save one of our own."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to go _that_ far, you still left us down a man!" Gladio's voice became sharper too, and Ignis' eyes flared dangerously in response. Prompto suppressed a wince at the reminder that he'd basically been the cause of all this mess.

"Cool it, Gladio," Noct said as he disappeared into the bathroom, "Save the arguments until after Ignis recovers."

Gladio closed his eyes and sighed, "Fine." He took a step back and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

"Let's go get some food. I think we could all use it," Noct decided.

"And someone get me some pyjamas please," Ignis added, irritation still lingering on his face as he crossed his arms in front of himself.

"Sure thing, Iggy," Prompto quickly slid out of the bed away from the awkward tension and started his quest for Ignis' pyjamas. (It wouldn't be a very long quest, really, he knew exactly where they were.)

"Specs, here you go," Noct said, returning with a glass of water and the requested pills.

"Thank you, Noct," Ignis said as he took the pills and swallowed them down, finishing off the whole glass of water in the process.

In the mean time, Prompto quickly dug up Ignis' dark blue flannel pyjamas. They were his favourite, and rightly so - they were super comfy, as Prompto had found out that time Ignis had been called out late and he'd stolen and worn them while waiting for Ignis to come back home. (It had been a lot of fun when Ignis had reclaimed them from him later.)

When Noct took the glass back, Prompto shook out the pyjamas and held out the top to Ignis. Ignis awkwardly wrestled into it, lacking a lot of his usual grace. It would have been funny if the mood in the room hadn't felt so tense.

"Alright," Gladio said, calmer now but still obviously unhappy, "Since Iggy is obviously not gonna go out to eat, what do we bring back for everyone?"

Ignis was slowly buttoning up his shirt with fingers clumsy from exhaustion. Prompto's hands shot out to help, but Ignis swatted them away.

"I can button a shirt by myself Prompto," he huffed irritably.

Prompto recoiled awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, of course."

"I'll see what I feel like when we get there," Noct said, "What about you, Specs, shall we just get your usual?"

"No," Ignis shook his head, still working on the buttons, "Get me... a double cheeseburger, with bacon. And an order of fries with all the sauces."

Noctis stared at him like he'd grown an extra head. Prompto couldn't blame him - it was exactly the kind of greasy and unhealthy food that Ignis usually chided them for, and not something he could ever have imagined Ignis actually wanting to eat.

"A-are you sure, Specs? It's not exactly-"

"Yes, I'm sure," Ignis interrupted, "I wouldn't have ordered it if I wasn't sure, now, would I?" he snapped.

"Dude, Iggy," Prompto said, half out of shock and half in an attempt to try and calm him down. Ignis pressed his lips together and looked away, his frown deepening as he kept trying and failing to fasten the last few buttons on his shirt.

"These blasted..." he growled, then sighed sharply. "I need a shower," he said and pushed himself to his feet, swaying worryingly as he took a step.

Prompto automatically got up and reached out a steadying hand, but Ignis pushed it away.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking a shower by myself, thank you," he snapped again.

"Iggy, c'mon," Gladio said, but Ignis didn't give him time.

"No, you don't get to tell me to calm down when _you_ were the one who started the argument in the first place, _Gladiolus_," he said with a fiery glare in Gladio's direction.

Before anyone could respond, Ignis had disappeared inside the bathroom and closed the door.

Prompto sat back down on the bed, stunned, wondering what he'd done wrong.

"Nice work, Gladio," Noct said sarcastically.

Gladio huffed a sigh.

"Let's get out of here," Noct said, shaking his head, "Give him some space. Prompto, you coming?"

"I... dunno," Prompto said. He was still kind of stunned at the way Ignis had snapped at them. At _him_. 

"Hey, you know Specs wasn't actually angry with _you_, right?" Noct said, ducking a little to try and catch Prompto's downturned eyes.

"I dunno," Prompto said again, not convinced, "Looked a lot like it from here."

"Nah, he just gets stupid defensive when he's not feeling well, you know? Plus, Gladio wasn't exactly helping back there," Noct said, throwing another side glance at Gladio, who was standing by the door with his arms crossed, looking almost like a petulant teenager.

"I guess you're right," Prompto said, feeling a little better despite himself.

"So, you coming with us?" Noctis asked again. Prompto mulled it over for a few seconds.

"Nah, I think I just wanna stay here," he said with a glance to the closed bathroom door. Despite what had just happened, he still didn't want to leave Ignis alone. It just didn't feel right.

"Alright, so what do you want us to get for you?" Noct asked him.

"Uh," Prompto thought about it for a moment, "I think I'd like that fish menu."

"Sure thing," Gladio said, "We'll be back soon."

The two of them left and then Prompto was in the room alone. He tried not to worry too much about the way Ignis had snapped at him. Reminded himself of what Noctis had said. And that he'd snapped at all of them, not just Prompto. He was a little bit successful. Kinda.

While he waited for Ignis to take his shower he picked up his phone and almost out of habit booted up King's Knight. But he didn't really have the attention span right now to really do much with it so he just harvested the few new coins his Zell tree had spawned and listened for a while to the calming music that accompanied it. It was one of his favourite tracks.

That's when he realised he still hadn't heard the sound of the shower. He started to get worried that something had happened in there - usually Ignis wasted no time getting the water running. He put his phone away and hesitantly approached the bathroom. He knocked, but there was no response. Even more worrying. The door didn't look like it was locked (though sometimes the locks were so worn you could hardly tell the difference) so he carefully pushed against it, opening it slightly, just enough to ease potential communication.

"Iggy?" he asked, "Is everything okay in there?"

Still no response.

"Is it okay if I come in?" he asked timidly, still not entirely convinced Ignis wasn't actually upset with him.

"...Yes," came the answer eventually, in a soft, defeated sounding voice. Worried, Prompto pushed the door open further.

Ignis was sitting on top of the closed toilet lid, leaning forward with his face buried in his hands. At Prompto's entrance, he looked up. When he met Prompto's gaze, he immediately cast his eyes downward again.

"My apologies," he said quietly, "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"It's ok," Prompto said, trying to reassure him. He stepped into the small bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Ignis shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. You didn't do anything to warrant it."

"It's ok, I'm not upset." That wasn't entirely true, he had been a bit hurt, but seeing Ignis like this, now... it was hard to feel anything but sympathy.

"I'm sorry," Ignis insisted, "I'm just... My head hurts, I'm cold, I'm so tired I can barely think, and then Gladio..." He sighed heavily and leaned his head down in his hands again, fingers running into his hair. Prompto kneeled down in front of him, tentatively putting a hand on his bare knee.

"It's alright," he said gently, "The painkillers will kick in soon, and then the others are going to bring food, and then you can go back to sleep again, ok?"

Ignis nodded, but didn't say anything. Prompto fought the urge to rub comforting circles on Ignis' knee with his thumb - Ignis was super sensitive to that kind of touch and it would probably only irritate him now. So he just squeezed a little tighter.

"I thought I'd lose you..." Ignis said suddenly, quietly, his voice thick and rough, "You were hurt so badly."

"But you didn't," Prompto reassured him, "I'm still here. You saved me."

"I was so afraid." He sounded so small and vulnerable that Prompto couldn't help but reach out and pull the overtired man forward into his arms.

"Shh, I'm here, Moonbeam," he whispered into his ear, "It's ok."

Ignis' arms folded around him.

"Really, I'm the one who should be apologising," Prompto said, "I was the one stupid enough to get myself hurt in the first place. I'm sorry."

Ignis' arms tightened around him and he felt him shaking his head against his shoulder. "No," Ignis said in a strangled whisper, "I'm..." his breath hitched. Prompto heard him breathing slowly, deliberately, raggedly, like he was trying not to cry. 

"It's ok," he whispered, "I've got you."

The response was immediate. A strangled sob as Ignis' arms held him even tighter. Prompto moved up his hand so he could gently stroke his hair.

He held Ignis while he slowly took long ragged breaths, punctuated by only an occasional sob. It still felt like Ignis was holding back. Then again, Ignis wasn't the type to cry easily. Or maybe he just didn't have the energy. Either way, Prompto was determined to make him feel safe and protected, so he held him with solid arms, and slowly, gently ran his fingers through his hair until his breaths calmed and became quiet again.

"Feeling better?" he asked gently.

Ignis nodded against his shoulder. Prompto tried to pull out of the hug but Ignis held him tight.

"Stay with me?" he whispered. 

"Of course," Prompto said reassuringly, "I'll be glued to your side for as long as you want. Until you're sick of me," he added, a mischievous grin growing on his face, "And then some. You'll have to pry me off with a crowbar just to go to the bathroom."

Ignis chuckled wetly into his ear. He pulled out of the hug and held Prompto's face in his hands. His eyes were still red and wet with tears, but there was a small, tremulous smile on his face. He pressed a gentle kiss to Prompto's lips. 

"I love you," he whispered and pressed his forehead against Prompto's.

"I love you too," Prompto whispered back and brought his hands up to cup Ignis' face, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb.

They sat like that, foreheads pressed together, for a few more moments before Ignis sighed deeply.

"I actually do need that shower."

Prompto smiled as they parted. "Sure. Let me get the water going while you undress."

He pulled the shower curtain closed and reached behind it to turn on the tap. He held his hand in the spray to check the temperature, and carefully adjusted it to Ignis' liking.

"I might have to sit down," Ignis sighed behind him.

"Why?" Prompto turned around to find Ignis fully naked behind him. Despite the situation, he couldn't suppress a moment of awe at how amazing his body was. He didn't think he'd ever fully get over that.

"I'm getting a bit lightheaded standing up," Ignis said, "I'm not sure I'll be safe standing in a bathtub like that."

Prompto tore his gaze away from Ignis and looked down at the bathtub. "Well, it has those rough strips on the bottom so you're not going to slip and fall that easily."

"I suppose not," Ignis said, but he didn't sound completely convinced.

"But I'll stay right here," Prompto added, "and if you want I could help you safely down."

"I would appreciate it," Ignis said quietly.

Prompto held out his hand for Ignis to take as he opened the curtain and gingerly stepped into the tub.

After a few moments hesitation, Prompto quickly stripped down himself.

"What are you doing?" a now wet and confused Ignis asked when Prompto slipped behind the shower curtain beside him.

"Glued to your side, remember? Also, this way I can make 100% sure you don't fall," Prompto grinned.

But Ignis wasn't smiling back. His eyes were fixed on Prompto's stomach, a haunted look on his face.

Prompto looked down and realised trickles of red were running down his stomach and legs. He'd totally forgotten about the remnants of dried blood still on his skin. Self-consciously he rubbed across the smooth surface, trying to wash off the blood as quickly as possible.

"I can't even feel a scar," he said quietly, "You took it all away."

"I... couldn't stand the thought of there being a reminder..." Ignis' voice was soft and thick, almost inaudible through the noise of the shower. His hand hovered awkwardly between them, wanting to touch but seemingly not quite knowing how to. Prompto reached out and gently enveloped the hand in both of his own.

He looked up at Ignis to find him staring down in the direction of Prompto's shoulder, his eyes distant, like his thoughts were somewhere far away. 

Prompto let go of his hand to reach up, and cupped his face in both hands, forcibly bringing him back to the present.

"Hey," he said as Ignis' eyes found his, "I'm here. I'm safe. It's alright."

A small, fragile smile flitted across Ignis' face.

"My apologies," he said.

Prompto snaked his arms around his back and held him tight. He felt Ignis' arms on his back as the taller man curled around him.

"It's alright," Prompto said.

They'd both been scared. When Prompto got injured Ignis had probably had the fright of his life, and when Ignis suddenly passed out... Prompto had had no idea what was going on and he'd been terrified that Ignis wouldn't wake up. He held on to Ignis a little tighter.

"What is it, love?" Ignis asked gently.

How did he always know? Prompto sighed.

"You weren't the only one who was scared," he admitted, murmuring into Ignis' shoulder, "When you just passed out like that, I thought... I didn't know what was going on. I was afraid you'd never wake up."

Ignis pressed a kiss into his wet hair.

"I'm still here, too, my Sunshine," he said.

"I mean, I know it's not the same, you were never actually in danger..." Prompto continued, because it couldn't possibly compare.

"But you didn't know that at the time, did you?" Ignis said with that familiar strict yet soothing tone in his voice that he always got when he thought Prompto was being too hard on himself.

"No..." Prompto admitted, "Gladio figured it out pretty quick though, so I was only scared for a short time..."

"You were still afraid for my life," Ignis insisted, "That's no small thing."

"I guess..." Prompto admitted. Maybe Ignis did have a point.

"It's alright to be scared," Ignis said gently, "It's alright to be rattled."

Prompto squeezed him tighter.

"That goes for you too, you know," he reminded Ignis. He felt Ignis squeezing him back. They stayed like that for a little while, simply taking comfort in the other's presence.

"We should probably finish up before the others come back," Prompto said eventually, reluctantly letting go.

"You're right," Ignis said, releasing Prompto in turn, "I'm afraid I'm getting quite dizzy though, I'll have to sit down for a bit before we do anything else."

"Yeah, sure," Prompto said, "Here, lean on me." He held on to Ignis' hands tightly, supporting him as he slowly sat down in the bathtub, just out of the spray of the shower head.

Ignis lowered his head, letting it hang between his knees. Prompto reached out to the hotel shampoo dispenser, pressed the lever to get some in his hands and quickly scrubbed the old hair products and other crap out of his hair while he stood under the water. Then he took some more shampoo and kneeled down in front of Ignis. He gently set his hands down on Ignis' head, slowly spreading the soap into his hair.

"What are you doing?" Ignis questioned.

"I'm washing your hair," Prompto said simply.

"I can do that myself," Ignis protested, but he didn't sound irritated like he had before.

"I know," Prompto said breezily, "Keep your eyes closed, it's running down the side."

He continued gently massaging Ignis' soapy hair, letting his fingers run all across his scalp. Ignis let out a soft groan, ever so slightly leaning into the touches.

When Prompto was satisfied that Ignis' hair was properly shampooed, he reached up to pull the shower head from its hook and aimed it right at Ignis' head to wash off all the suds.

"All done," he said, letting the hot water run down Ignis' back for a bit. A slight shiver ran through the other man.

"That feels wonderful," Ignis mumbled.

Prompto smiled at the softness of his voice. He kept the water on him for a little while longer, gently going back and forth across his broad shoulders, trying to spread the heat all over his body. He'd never seen Ignis this exhausted and he was determined to do his best to spoil him and give him all the comfort he could. Especially since it was because of Prompto in the first place.

"Gotta turn it off now, time to finish up," he eventually said regretfully, doing exactly that. Something that sounded suspiciously like a whine escaped Ignis as the hot water stopped. Prompto couldn't completely suppress a grin as he slid open the shower curtain.

"You good to stand?" he asked.

"Yes, I think so."

"Alright, well, up you go," Prompto said, stepping out of the bathtub onto the mat before holding out his hand. Ignis took it, pulled himself up and carefully climbed out of the tub beside him.

Prompto pulled a towel from the rack and draped it over Ignis' head. Before Ignis could react he already had his hands on it and was roughly rubbing Ignis' hair dry. 

"I don't suppose you'll let me do anything myself?" Ignis said, half muffled by the large towel.

"Nope," Prompto said cheerfully, "I declare it's 'Taking Care Of Iggy Day'. Though I guess I could allow you to put your own clothes on if you really want. Maybe." He laughed and removed the towel from Ignis' hair, and then laughed harder at the giant floofy mess he'd made of it.

There was a dangerous twinkle in Ignis' eyes and before he knew it Ignis had pulled another towel off the rack and was returning the 'favor', forcefully rubbing it across Prompto's head before pulling back and admiring his handiwork.

"I daresay it's an improvement on your usual style," Ignis remarked, a small, wicked smile on his face.

"Hey!" Prompto protested, but he couldn't help laughing. He threw his towel into Ignis' face in retaliation. Ignis' deep, rich laugh came from underneath the fabric and Prompto had never been more glad to hear it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you wish. <3


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